(Field of the Invention)
The present invention relates to a method for inserting an therapeutic device into a hollow organ of a subject (such as a patient). In particular, the present invention relates to an insertion method that is suitable for cases in which, for example, an therapeutic device is inserted into a hollow organ, such as the bile duct or the pancreatic duct, through an opening, such as the duodenal papilla.
(Description of the Related Art)
For diseases involving a hollow organ of the human body, an therapeutic device may be inserted into the hollow organ using a guide wire. However, when an obstruction is present in the opening that leads to the hollow organ, the guide wire itself may not be able to be inserted into the hollow organ. For example, the duodenal papilla may be firmly closed. Alternatively, the orientation of the opening may significantly differ from the advancing direction of the therapeutic device. In such instances, insertion of the guide wire into the target lumen, such as the bile duct or the pancreatic duct, via the duodenal papilla may become difficult.
In such instances, a procedure referred to as a rendezvous method may be performed. In the rendezvous method, the bile duct is punctured from the gastrointestinal tract, such as the stomach. The guide wire is then antegradely indwelt. In this method, the guide wire, which projects into the duodenum from the duodenal papilla, is pulled outside of the body via a channel of an endoscope that has been inserted into the duodenum. Stent indwelling and the like are performed using the guide wire that has been pulled outside of the body.
To indwell an endoscopic device, such as a stent, using this procedure, in a manner similar to ordinary endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), the endoscopic device is pushed into the papilla via an endoscope channel. As a result of the endoscopic device being pushed in this way, the endoscopic device can be indwelt in the bile duct or the pancreatic duct. However, for some reason involving the anatomical structure of the patient, the papilla may not be visible from the front in an endoscopic image or the papilla may be tightly closed. In addition, the running (anatomy) of the bile duct imagined by an operator may differ from the actual running (anatomy). In such instances, even when the operator attempts to push the endoscopic device into the papilla by manual operation, the endoscopic device may bend in the space between the tip of the endoscope and the papilla, causing loss of force. Insertion of the endoscopic device then becomes difficult.